Rapido 48566 HO Scale Western Maryland GE 44-Tonner #76 (DCC/Sound)

Rapido's HO scale General Electric 44-Tonner arrives as Western Maryland #76, finished in WM black with gold WESTERN MARYLAND lettering, gold handrails and the red Fireball 'Fast Freight Line' herald on the cab side. This is the sound version, with a factory ESU decoder and Rapido's MoPower capacitor.

• Factory ESU sound decoder with Rapido MoPower capacitor
• Heavy die-cast chassis, coreless motor with dual flywheels
• Second-run tooling adds Phase Ia/b and Phase II bodies to the Phase Ic, III and IV bodies
• Two styles of fuel tank skirting
• Separately applied door latches and full cab interior
• Photo-etched cab steps
• Semi-scale metal knuckle couplers

The 44-Tonner was the little centre-cab that let railroads work with a one-man crew: a 1937 labour agreement required a fireman on any locomotive over 90,000 pounds, so GE held these to 88,000 pounds. More than 300 were built between 1940 and 1956, working everywhere from Class I shop and transfer jobs to shortlines and private industry.